Let me reiterate: HOLY CRAP! OK, let’s play “How many things are wrong with this picture?”:

1. The first and most obvious abomination in this ad is that the wine is called “Layer Cake” - yes, that’s right, “Layer Cake”…you know, everybody’s favorite dark, fudgey, luscious, DESSERT!!! As if Australia doesn’t already have 470 too many thick, flabby, over-extracted, hyper-alcoholic “red” wines!!! OK, I guess that there are boatloads of folks who dig this kind of marmalade-wine, but this name borders on the vulgar…

2. The second thing that LEAPS from this ad is the tag line: “RICH IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING”. This clearly can be taken two ways, both of which SUCK:

A - The word “rich” can be taken to mean “wealthy”, clearly implying that this wine, and perhaps more specifically, WINE IN GENERAL is just for the rich. Not only is this a complete falsehood, isn’t it just a bit insulting (and therefore ineffective as an ad campaign to the AVERAGE wine drinker) to those of us who aren’t rich?! Or are they trying to make an elitist out of your workaday ass - trying to make you FEEL like you’re rich by drinking THIS wine?

B - The second meaning of the word “rich” in this context is “unctuous”…OK, maybe sometimes we all crave a big, soft, sweet and inky drinky, but those who truly believe that “Rich is always a good thing” should really drop the whole wine thing, and take up drinking milkshakes and root beer floats. Blech.

Now I will freely admit that I have not yet tasted this wine, but with this TRAINWRECK of an ad campaign, would YOU want to pick up a bottle?…maybe I didn’t make myself clear - the wine is called “LAYER CAKE”. “LAYER CAKE”.

This whole “thing” embodies everything I HATE about wine from the top of its screwtop head to the bottom of its deep-punted feet. Your thoughts?

TOM CIOCCO

ADDENDUM - I managed to land a bottle of this to taste - here are my notes:

Opaque black-purple color. Nose of super ripe, intense blackberry fruit with mocha underlying. “Sweet and sour” plum fruit (artificially acidified?) in the mouth. Dense and chewy texture. Ultimately a bit hot (noticeable alcohol), over-extracted, heavy-handed, and flabby with a quite bitter and alcoholic finish.

No surprises here. This is classic, palate-punishing Aussie Shiraz - too much to drink on its own (at least for me) and aside from a plate of pulled pork barbecue or braised short ribs, this pairs well with precisely nothing. I want to put water in it, much in the same way that one has to dilute Coke syrup with seltzer to make it palatable…when it comes right down to it, for me, much of Australia is just too hot for viticulture, period - like trying to grow oranges or lemons in North Carolina - feasible but not recommended.

TOM CIOCCO